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The Bachelor Project
Victoria Chancellor
All the gossips in Ranger Springs were talking about the runaway bride who'd just come to town. And how she'd caught the eye of sexy police chief Ethan Parker.They'd all seen his car parked outside her house the first night she was in town. And after watching the two embrace on the front porch, nobody believed for a minute that he'd just come to check on some wayward raccoons! No, it seemed as if sweet Robin Cummings had caught the eye of this true-blood Texan who'd never quite made it to the altar. How could everyone in town help but start working on The Bachelor Project…?
Robin Cummings’s Guide to Finding the Perfect Man
—Date Mr. Wrong for two years.
—Call off the wedding with barely a moment to spare. Whew!
—Come to Ranger Springs to lick your wounds and forget about men, then fall into the strong arms of the police chief—who happens to be the most appealing man you’ve ever met.
—Try to forget about Police Chief Ethan Parker, because you came here to forget about men.
—Fail miserably.
—Realize that Ethan Parker is the perfect man for you, even though it may take the rest of your life to convince him you belong together….
Dear Reader,
It’s another wonderful month at Harlequin American Romance, the line dedicated to bringing you stories of heart, home and happiness! Just look what we have in store for you….
Author extraordinaire Cathy Gillen Thacker continues her fabulous series THE LOCKHARTS OF TEXAS with The Bride Said, “Finally!” Cathy will have more Lockhart books out in February and April 2001, as well as a special McCabe family saga in March 2001.
You’ve been wanting more books in the TOTS FOR TEXANS series, and author Judy Christenberry has delivered! The $10,000,000 Texas Wedding is the not-to-be-missed continuation of these beloved stories set in Cactus, Texas. You just know there’s plenty of romance afoot when a bachelor will lose his huge inheritance should he fail to marry the woman he once let get away.
Rounding out the month are two fabulous stories by two authors making their Harlequin American Romance debut. Neesa Hart brings us the humorous Who Gets To Marry Max? and Victoria Chancellor will wow you with The Bachelor Project.
Wishing you happy reading!
Melissa Jeglinski
Associate Senior Editor
The Bachelor Project
Victoria Chancellor
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To my wonderful in-laws, Lillian & E. V. Huffstutler.
Thank you making me part of the family, and for telling those great small-town-Texas stories during Sunday dinner. I love you, Sudie and Dad.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
While growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, Victoria Chancellor never realized her vivid imagination meant she would someday become a writer. Now married to a Texan and settled in a suburb of Dallas, she thoroughly enjoys creating fictional worlds inhabited by characters who deserve a happy ending. When she’s not writing, Victoria cares for her “zoo” of three cats, two ferrets, two tortoises, a flock of naturalized ring-neck doves and assorted wild animals who wander onto her patio for dinner each night. She would love to receive letters at P.O. Box 852125, Richardson, TX 75085-2125. Please enclose a SASE for reply.
Books by Victoria Chancellor
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
844—THE BACHELOR PROJECT
Contents
Chapter One (#u2b195e54-8949-54fa-abf6-035402692035)
Chapter Two (#u44276db8-2e34-51eb-bf33-6cf742f81a2a)
Chapter Three (#u7f3b81e3-33a1-54df-b26b-5c607afcc73b)
Chapter Four (#u2f659d16-1a9f-5e19-9e13-8dd3b862f98d)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
There! The scratching, bumping noise filtered through the closed, locked windows.
Robin peered through the mini-blinds into the vast darkness outside the fringe of artificial light. She couldn’t see beyond the large pecan trees to the county road. Having grown up in a Houston highrise, she felt as if she were the only person alive in the Texas Hill Country. Of course, there were other people around—just not very close. She’d noticed a few other houses, perhaps a quarter-mile away, when she’d driven in early this afternoon.
Floodlights mounted high on the side and back of the residence bathed the lawn and shrubs in a brightness bordering on daylight. Squinting into the shadows, she searched for the source of the suspicious noise she’d heard only moments ago.
Nothing.
She’d hoped to see a wild animal running among the rows of clay pots filled with begonias. Or even a loud car driving carelessly on the two-lane road that connected Ranger Springs to nowhere in particular.
Nothing.
“There’s no one outside,” she whispered to herself. This comfortable, rural, family home was safe. Her Great-aunt Sylvia’s dear friend Bess wouldn’t have suggested a town rife with criminals or juvenile delinquents. And certainly no one she knew from Houston would be rummaging around outside the house, especially since they didn’t know where she’d run. Why would she tell them, when she didn’t want to face family or friends for at least two or three months?
Her hand was poised to turn off the floor lamp in the large den when the sound came again. Horribly clear and menacing, just outside the thin glass windows. Near the dining room? She tilted her head, listening, her body strung tight. No, perhaps the kitchen. She imagined the intruders preparing to enter the house…or maybe just frighten her. Who knew what kind of mischief rural teenagers could perpetrate?
With a frown, she reached for the phone. Was this town large enough to have an emergency number? Somewhere in the house, she’d seen a listing of fire and police departments, but at the moment she couldn’t remember where that might be. Well, she’d dial 9-1-1 and see what happened.
“Ranger Springs 9-1-1. What is your emergency?”
“I think I have an intruder. Could you please send someone out here? I just moved in this afternoon. The house has been empty for a month, and I’m afraid someone might be prowling around.” Robin swiveled so she could see the windows and listen for more sounds.
“Can you give me a description of the intruder?”
“No, I can’t see him…or them. But I heard something just a few minutes ago.”
“What’s your address?”
Robin gave the dispatcher the rural route number, but kept on listening for sounds.
“Chief Parker is on his way.”
A horrible crashing noise came from beneath the dining room windows. “Please, hurry,” she whispered, suddenly more afraid. “I think they’re getting desperate.”
“Hold on, ma’am. Tell me your name.”
“Cummings. Robin Cummings. I’m staying at the home of the Franklin family. House-sitting.”
“Chief Parker will be there in just a few minutes. He’s on his way. He’s listening to the call.”
“Hurry.”
“Do you have a weapon?”
“No,” Robin said, shuddering as she imagined herself trying to pull the trigger as she stared down the barrel of a pistol. Or, worse yet, clutching a knife to defend herself. “No weapon.”
“I’ll be on the line with you until he’s there. Stay away from the windows and keep your doors locked until the chief identifies himself.”
“Don’t worry,” Robin said, leaning against the couch, “everything is locked, and I’m not going anywhere near a door or window.”
She pulled her knees up high and hugged them to her chest. The police chief would be here soon. Not just a patrol officer, but The Chief. Someone experienced, mature, competent. She didn’t care if he looked like Andy Griffith or the guy Carroll O’Connor had played in that Southern television drama. In just a few minutes, he’d be here and scare the intruders away.
POLICE CHIEF ETHAN PARKER cut the lights on his patrol car; he’d already shut off the siren a ways back. Parking beneath the spreading pecan trees that lined the two-lane blacktop and driveway to the Franklin house, he took just a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness so he could look around the property. He seriously doubted that out here in the country there was an intruder lurking in the darkness. More than likely, an animal was scrounging for food or just curious about activity inside the recently vacant home.
Still, he unsnapped the holster restraint and gripped his pistol. Even if a human predator wasn’t about this night, he’d seen a couple of pretty large cougars not too far west of here. No sense in tempting fate.
The car’s clock reminded him that his shift ended in just ten minutes. If one of his patrol officers wasn’t in Austin for a training class, Ethan would be home, getting ready for bed right now. The chief didn’t usually work the night shift, but in a small town, every person had to do double duty at times.
He gave his position to Ben, his regular nighttime dispatcher, clipped his call unit on his shoulder, then gripped a flashlight. Ethan eased out of the patrol car into the warm, humid night, shutting the door as silently as possible. Every lamp in the house seemed to be blazing, giving him plenty of light to see around the exterior. Floodlights on two sides illuminated the side and back entrances, and brass fixtures on either side of the ornate front door revealed the wide, deep porch.
Ethan circled the house, listening for any whispers that might indicate some local teens looking for a deserted house to use for a party. Or to sit around outside and drink some beers they’d taken from a parent’s refrigerator. Even Ranger Springs wasn’t immune to the problems of the city, so he wouldn’t put it past a few teens to smoke a little marijuana out here in the country. But the only sounds he heard were the usual summer night noises of crickets and other insects.
A far cry from the career at the FBI he’d given up almost three years ago. Crime in Ranger Springs didn’t compare with that in Dallas. In the past three years, he’d never before received a 9-1-1 call from a hysterical woman who feared for her life. He had to wonder who this caller might be—a friend of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin, or someone who’d heard about the vacancy through Gina Mae Summers, the local real estate agent? Ethan had already been making extra patrols to the property just to make sure teens looking for a good hangout hadn’t decided an uninhabited, upscale, three-bedroom house would make a great Party Central.
His boots made barely a sound as they sank lightly into the damp earth. No footprints other than his marked the property, giving him further reassurance that two-legged predators weren’t lurking. Kids weren’t nearly as sneaky as they thought they were, and he doubted any one of the teens in Ranger Springs would think to conceal evidence that they’d walked around outside an empty house.
He reached the side entrance, where a couple of moving boxes and some plastic bags tumbled haphazardly across the concrete path to the detached garage. Nudging the closer box with his boot, he wasn’t too surprised when two dark shapes scrambled out of the mess. One paused briefly to stand on hind legs and stare at him in curiosity from darkly masked eyes. Then the raccoons both ran to the nearest tree and scurried up the rough bark.
Ethan smiled as he eased his 40-caliber semiautomatic into the holster. Reassured that no danger lurked in the moonlit shadows, he approached the front door and knocked.
“Police Chief Ethan Parker,” he announced loudly.
He heard the whisper of footsteps, then saw a feminine shape cross the leaded panels. Finally, a woman flung open the heavy oak door.
She stood inside the threshold, dressed in a skimpy peach-colored robe she clutched around her middle. Something—perhaps a T-shirt—peeked out below the hem, brushing against her thighs. Long, tanned thighs. He took only a second to take in her average height and build, delicate features and heart-shaped face and determined she posed no threat to him.
In the next instant, the description “doe in the headlights” popped into his head. He’d seen the same look of fear in large brown eyes just before he’d slammed on the brakes and steered to avoid one of the beautiful and plentiful deer that populated the Hill Country.
“Miss Cummings?” Thankfully, he remembered her name from the dispatcher’s conversation. Every other rational, professional thought seemed to have deserted his brain for the moment.
“You’re the police chief?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, automatically reaching for his wallet badge. “Ethan Parker. Are you all right?”
“Yes, but thank goodness you’re here,” she said, her voice soft and throaty. Kind of sexy…except he shouldn’t be thinking about that when she was obviously upset.
“Did you see who was outside?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, trying not to let his gaze roam over her thinly dressed figure, shapely legs and bare feet any more than absolutely necessary for police business. “They were raccoons—two, to be precise—and I can assure you they were as frightened of me as you were of them.”
She sagged against the door frame, her breath fast and shallow. “I feel so foolish. I thought maybe some kids were hanging around, or maybe vagrants. I really don’t know anyone in this area, so I assumed whoever was making the noise wasn’t friendly.”
“It’s all right. I understand.”
She released her robe long enough to rake her fingers through dark blond, shoulder-length strands. Her other hand maintained a white-knuckled grip on the door frame. “Are raccoons dangerous?”
“Not unless they’re rabid.”
“Rabid!”
She looked absolutely shocked. She must be from the city if she was unfamiliar with one of the most common animals in Texas. And surely she’d heard of rabies. Or maybe that was the problem. Some people had an unreasonable fear of wild animals and the diseases they might carry.
“You shouldn’t have to worry—” The static signaling a call from the dispatcher was immediately followed by a request for his status.
The woman in the doorway jumped as though she’d taken a .45 to the chest.
Ethan cursed beneath his breath as he touched the communication unit attached to his uniform near his shoulder. “Parker to dispatch,” he answered more curtly than usual. “Everything’s fine out here, Ben. Just a few curious raccoons.”
His attention didn’t waver from the woman as the dispatcher signed off. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, warm her hands between his larger ones, erase the look of panic from her wide brown eyes. Her palpable fear ate at his soul like acid.
